Placeholder Content Image

Cruise in relaxed luxury with Avalon Waterways

<p>Ready to escape reality and experience the luxury of everyday extravagance? On an Avalon Waterways river cruise, you’ll be spellbound by the world’s most enchanting rivers while being served gourmet cuisine in style.</p><p>Why not treat yourself or someone you love to an experience of a lifetime? It is time to indulge yourself and enjoy relaxing in comfort on an <a href="https://www.avalonwaterways.com.au/?utm_medium=native&amp;utm_source=over60&amp;utm_campaign=avalon-2022-europe-feb&amp;utm_content=website-hyperlink-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Avalon Waterways river cruise</a>.</p><p>There is so much to choose from with options for varying budgets and interests and with more than 80 cruises on offer. Pick from cruises sailing up ten spectacular rivers and through 20 countries in Europe, Asia, South America, and Egypt.</p><p>If you’ve always dreamed of seeing the tulips in Amsterdam in springtime and the breathtaking colours of Keukenhof, also known as the “Garden of Europe” with almost 7 million flowering bulbs and 70 acres of parklands, then you’ll enjoy an eight-day experience through both Holland and Belgium.</p><p>Or if you’d prefer to immerse yourself in French history then sail along the Rhône River and visit Arles where Van Gogh was inspired to create many of his iconic paintings. There is also the option to visit the historic Normandy Landing Beaches, including Omaha Beach, the Point du Hoc monument, and the American Cemetery, or a visit to Les Andelys, Joan of Arc’s Rouen, and Napoleon and Josephine’s Malmaison while on the Seine River. It is like living inside a history book.</p><p>Avalon has a wide range of special interest-themed and festive cruises such as wine appreciation in Budapest and France and beer tasting in Amsterdam. There are even unique Christmas experiences where you can have a European holiday to remember. For example, take a festive cruise to see the Black Forest and go shopping at European Christmas markets.</p><p><img style="width: 500px;height: 281.25px" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/01/RhineValley_shutterstock_1172559577_O60.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/93488159081a4fb9afa76d9d34f62c7c" /></p><p><em>Above: Explore the spectacular vineyard-lined Rhine River Valley. Image: Shutterstock</em></p><p>With Avalon Choice, you are invited to create your own path and choose from a wide array of daily excursions depending on your unique interests. If you are travelling with a companion with different hobbies then you can go your own way during the day and meet up on board later for a gourmet meal to swap experiences and show off your photos.</p><p>For more active travellers, there is an Adventure Host on board to offer options and all the equipment you’ll need for your expeditions. Or download the complimentary AvalonGO app, which is a digital guide that allows you to navigate local streets easily with offline GPS navigation even if you don’t have access to WiFi. It also allows you to document your journey with spectacular photos you snap and notes you take so your friends and family can keep a track of your holiday on the go on social media.</p><p>It’s all about creating a holiday that is perfect for individuals so you can cruise your own way enjoying classic sightseeing and immersing yourself in the local culture.</p><p>There’s a breadth of products to choose from. With its Active &amp; Discovery river cruises, Avalon offers engaging and interactive pursuits such as painting a canvas on board or paddling in a kayak on an iconic river. Choose from an adventure of the mind or the heart rate on award-winning Suite Ships.</p><p>The entire Avalon fleet in Southeast Asia and Europe consists of Suite Ships. So, you’ll experience a <a href="https://www.avalonwaterways.com.au/onboard-experiences/rooms-with-a-view?utm_medium=native&amp;utm_source=over60&amp;utm_campaign=avalon-2022-europe-feb&amp;utm_content=image-suites" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘view with a room’</a> with a Panoramic Suite which is built with the widest-opening windows in river cruising. There’s also the Open-Air Balcony, the Comfort Collection bed which is turned to face the ever-changing scenery, and unique features to beautifully blur the line between outside and in. It really is an experience like no other.</p><p>If you choose, there is also the option to add combinations of land holidays before or after your cruise to extend your trip for as long as you want. Top it off with the gourmet cuisine and excellent onboard service and it is time to get ready for the holiday of a lifetime.</p><p><em><strong>Avalon Assurance:</strong> The world has changed, but what remains certain is our commitment to your peace-of-mind while travelling. To that end, we’ve established a set of enhanced pre and onboard protocols and procedures to ensure health – and happiness – throughout your journey with us.</em></p><p><em><strong>This is a sponsored article produced in partnership with <a href="https://www.avalonwaterways.com.au/?utm_medium=native&amp;utm_source=over60&amp;utm_campaign=avalon-2022-europe-feb&amp;utm_content=website-hyperlink-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Avalon Waterways</a>.</strong></em></p>

Cruising

Placeholder Content Image

Bryan Brown addresses "rubbish" COVID-19 rumour

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> <p>Actor Bryan Brown has spoken out after he and his wife Rachel Ward were falsely linked to a COVID-19 outbreak in the Northern Beaches last year.</p> <p>The Palm Beach star faced an abundance of hate online after it was claimed that he and Ward were responsible for the Avalon cluster after a spike in cases resulted in new restrictions and lockdown.</p> <p>“I’m not on social media so I didn’t know anything about it until suddenly I was getting phone calls from everyone,” Brown told Confidential.</p> <p>It was falsely claimed that Brown and Ward had caught the strain of the virus from the US after a recent trip and that it was spread after a personal training class at their home.</p> <p>“It was a load of rubbish ... I have no idea how this started,” Brown said.</p> <p>“I haven’t been overseas in 18 months. I didn’t have COVID-19. I don’t have a personal trainer. I don’t live on the Northern Beaches. I have no idea how it happened.”</p> <p>At the time, Ward also set the record straight on social media.</p> <p>“Just to set the record straight. I haven’t been to US for over 5 yrs [sic],” she wrote on Instagram.</p> <p>“I don’t have a personal trainer. I’ve been in mid north coast for past 10 days. I don’t have Covid. Pic taken 15 mins ago. Pick on another witch.”</p> <p>The couple once owned a home north of Avalon but moved to Inner West.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-action-bar-component-wrapper"> <div class="post-actions-component"> <div class="upper-row"><span class="like-bar-component"></span> <div class="right-box-container"></div> </div> </div> </div>

Caring

Placeholder Content Image

How bushfires and rain turned our waterways into ‘cake mix’, and what we can do about it

<p>As the world watched the Black Summer bushfires in horror, we warned that when it did finally rain, our aquatic ecosystems would be <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-sweet-relief-of-rain-after-bushfires-threatens-disaster-for-our-rivers-129449">devastated</a>.</p> <p>Following bushfires, rainfall can wash huge volumes of ash and debris from burnt vegetation and exposed soil into <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13241583.2020.1717694?journalCode=twar20">rivers</a>. Fires can also lead to soil “hydrophobia”, where soil refuses to absorb water, which can generate more runoff at higher intensity. Ash and contaminants from the fire, including toxic metals, carbon and fire retardants, can also threaten biodiversity in streams.</p> <p>As expected, when heavy rains eventually extinguished many fires, it turned high quality water in our rivers to sludge with the consistency of <a href="https://theconversation.com/before-and-after-see-how-bushfire-and-rain-turned-the-macquarie-perchs-home-to-sludge-139919">cake mix</a>.</p> <p><strong>Join 130,000 people who subscribe to free evidence-based news.</strong></p> <p>Get newsletter</p> <p>In the weeks following the first rains, we sampled from these rivers. <a href="https://publications.csiro.au/publications/#publication/PIcsiro:EP206535">This is what we saw</a>.</p> <p><strong>Sampling the upper Murray River</strong></p> <p>Of particular concern was the <a href="https://www.visituppermurray.com.au/self-drive-touring/">upper Murray</a> River on the border between Victoria and NSW, which is critical for water supply. There, the bushfires were particularly intense.</p> <p>When long-awaited rain eventually came to the upper Murray River catchment, it was in the form of large localised storms. Tonnes of ash, sediment and debris were washed into creeks and the Murray River. Steep terrain within burnt regions of the upper Murray catchment generated a large volume of fast flowing runoff that carried with it sediment and pollutants.</p> <p>We collected water samples in the upper Murray River in January and February 2020 to assess impacts to riverine plants and animals.</p> <p>Our water samples were up to 30 times more turbid (cloudy) than normal, with total suspended solids as high as 765 milligrams per litre. Heavy metals such as zinc, arsenic, chromium, nickel, copper and lead were recorded in concentrations well above guideline values for healthy waterways.</p> <p>We took the water collected from the Murray River to the laboratory, where we conducted a number of toxicological experiments on duckweed (a floating water plant), water fleas (small aquatic invertebrates) and juvenile freshwater snails.</p> <p><strong>What we found</strong></p> <p>During a seven-day exposure to the bushfire affected river water, the growth rate of <a href="https://weeds.dpi.nsw.gov.au/Weeds/Duckweed">duckweed</a> was reduced by 30-60%.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/water-flea">water fleas</a> ingested large amounts of suspended sediments when they were exposed to the affected water for 48 hours. Following the exposure, water flea reproduction was significantly impaired.</p> <p>And <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/freshwater-snail">freshwater snail</a> egg sacs were smothered. The ash resulted in complete deaths of snail larvae after 14 days.</p> <p>These sad impacts to growth, reproduction and death rates were primarily a result of the combined effects of the ash and contaminants, according to our preliminary investigations.</p> <p>But they can have longer-term knock-on effects to larger animals like birds and fish that rely on biota like snail eggs, water fleas and duckweed for food.</p> <p><strong>What happened to the fish?</strong></p> <p>Immediately following the first pulse of sediment, dead fish (mostly introduced <a href="https://australian.museum/learn/animals/fishes/european-carp-cyprinus-carpio/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwhb36BRCfARIsAKcXh6FgK-8QaDVfHBgGRa_sUuqssocPb-i-0QBxs_JG98YNMek7AHgl-u8aAmRwEALw_wcB">European carp</a> and native <a href="https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/fish-species/species-list/murray-cod">Murray Cod</a>) were observed on the bank of River Murray at Burrowye Reserve, Victoria. But what, exactly, was their cause of death?</p> <p>Our first assumption was that they died from a lack of oxygen in the water. This is because ash and nutrients combined with high summer water temperatures can trigger increased activity of microbes, such as bacteria.</p> <p>This, in turn can deplete the dissolved oxygen concentration in the water (also known as <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/water/cewo/publications/factsheet-hypoxic-blackwater-events-and-water-quality">hypoxia</a>) as the microbes consume oxygen. And wide-spread hypoxia can lead to large scale fish kills.</p> <p>But to our surprise, although dissolved oxygen in the Murray River was lower than usual, we did not record it at levels low enough for hypoxia. Instead, we saw the dead fish had large quantities of sediment trapped in their gills. The fish deaths were also quite localised.</p> <p>In this case, we think fish death was simply caused by the extremely high sediment and ash load in the river that physically clogged their gills, not a lack of dissolved oxygen in the water.</p> <p>These findings are not unusual, and following the 2003 bushfires in Victoria fish kills were attributed to a combination of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2008.01851.x?casa_token=Anjq4f3ZTWoAAAAA%3AM_B988ns0XYPpiKIDh38yznV8YK-JjB-i-wVNxzs90goAS4tc0TwfNCEQ4Iao5UTgwwKCO9_t4tq4W4p">low dissolved oxygen and high turbidity</a>.</p> <p><strong>So how can we prepare for future bushfires?</strong></p> <p>Preventing sediment being washed into rivers following fires is difficult. Installing sediment barriers and other erosion control measures can protect specific areas. However, at the catchment scale, a more holistic approach is required.</p> <p>One way is to increase efforts to re-vegetate stream banks (called riparian zones) to help buffer the runoff. A step further is to consider re-vegetating these zones with native plants that don’t burn easily, such as <a href="https://apsvic.org.au/fire-resistant-and-retardant-plants/">Blackwood</a> (<em>Acacia melanoxylin</em>).</p> <p>Streams known to host rare or endangered aquatic species should form the focus of any fire preparation activities. Some species exist only in highly localised areas, such as the endangered native <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/recovery-plans/national-recovery-plan-barred-galaxias-galaxias-fuscus">barred galaxias</a> (<em>Galaxias fuscus</em>) in central Victoria. This means an extreme fire event there can lead to the extinction of the whole species.</p> <p>That’s why reintroducing endangered species to their former ranges in multiple catchments to broaden their distribution is important.</p> <p>Increasing the connectivity within our streams would also allow animals like fish to evade poor water quality — dams and weirs can prevent this. The removal of such barriers, or installing “<a href="https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/habitat/rehabilitating/fishways">fish-ways</a>” may be important to protecting fish populations from bushfire impacts.</p> <p>However, dams can also be used to benefit animal and plant life (biota). When sediment is washed into large rivers, as we saw in the Murray River after the Black Summer fires, the release of good quality water from dams can be used to dilute poor quality water washed in from fire affected tributaries.</p> <p>Citizen scientists can help, too. It can be difficult for researchers to monitor aquatic ecosystems during and immediately following bushfires and unmanned monitoring stations are often damaged or destroyed.</p> <p>CSIRO is working closely with state authorities and the public to improve citizen science apps such as <a href="https://www.eyeonwater.org/apps/eyeonwater-australia">EyeOnWater</a> to collect water quality data. With more eyes in more areas, these data can improve our understanding of aquatic ecosystem responses to fire and to inform strategic planning for future fires.</p> <p>These are some simple first steps that can be taken now.</p> <p>Recent investment in bushfire research has largely centred on how the previous fires have influenced species’ distribution and health. But if we want to avoid wildlife catastrophes, we must also look forward to the mitigation of future bushfire impacts.</p> <p><em>Written by Paul McInerney, Anu Kumar, Gavin Rees, Klaus Joehnk and Tapas Kumar Biswas. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-bushfires-and-rain-turned-our-waterways-into-cake-mix-and-what-we-can-do-about-it-144504">The Conversation.</a> </em></p>

Cruising

Placeholder Content Image

The relief of rain after bushfires spells disaster for Aussie river systems

<p>When <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-bushfires-are-horrendous-but-expect-cyclones-floods-and-heatwaves-too-129328">heavy rainfall</a> eventually extinguishes the flames ravaging south-east Australia, another ecological threat will arise. Sediment, ash and debris washing into our waterways, particularly in the Murray-Darling Basin, may decimate aquatic life.</p> <p>We’ve seen this before. Following 2003 bushfires in Victoria’s alpine region, water filled with sediment and debris (<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2008.01851.x?casa_token=agMBKaIwouEAAAAA%3APypMeV5ZvxP-FB88fNaZ2E_Fyr1NCEkdPf8Q1CHfCEb8peTY_fT83a-tc86NZaix_Dbr7MpJfV9XVuk">known as sediment slugs</a>) flowed into rivers and lakes, heavily reducing fish populations. We’ll likely see it again after this season’s bushfire emergency.</p> <p>Large areas of northeast Victoria have been burnt. While this region accounts only for 2% of Murray-Darling Basin’s entire land area, water flowing in from northeast Victorian streams (also known as in-flow) contributes <a href="https://www.water.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0025/421639/NorthEast_SDS_WEB.pdf">38%</a> of overall in-flows into the Murray-Darling Basin.</p> <p>Fire debris flowing into Murray-Darling Basin will exacerbate the risk of fish and other aquatic life dying en masse <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/feb/18/the-darling-will-die-scientists-say-mass-fish-kill-due-to-over-extraction-and-drought">as witnessed in previous years.</a>.</p> <p><strong>What will flow into waterways?</strong></p> <p>Generally, bushfire ash comprises <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935115300177">organic carbon and inorganic elements</a> such as nitrogen, phosphorous and metals such as <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Singarayer_Florentine/publication/317106161_Risk_of_post-fire_metal_mobilization_into_surface_water_resources_A_review/links/59de6f650f7e9bcfab24033e/Risk-of-post-fire-metal-mobilization-into-surface-water-resources-A-review.pdf">copper, mercury and zinc</a>.</p> <p>Sediment rushing into waterways can also contain large amounts of soil, since fire has consumed the vegetation that once bound the soil together and prevented erosion.</p> <p>And <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022169410006748">carcinogenic chemicals</a> – found in soil and ash in higher amounts following bushfires – can contaminate streams and reservoirs <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ldr.3427">over the first year after the fire</a>.</p> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"><iframe class="embed-responsive-item" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VwPnKCx2SNM"></iframe></div> <p><strong>How they harm aquatic life</strong></p> <p>Immediately following the bushfires, we expect to see an increase in streamflow when it rains, because burnt soil <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jof/article/102/6/16/4613173">repels</a>, not absorbs, water.</p> <p>When vast amounts of carbon are present in a waterway, such as when carbon-loaded sediments and debris wash in, bacteria rapidly consumes the water’s oxygen. The remaining oxygen levels can fall below what most invertebrates and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2008.01851.x">fish</a> <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022169412003691">can tolerate</a>.</p> <p>These high sediment loads can also <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0043135408001401#bib20">suffocate</a> aquatic animals with a fine layer of silt which coats their gills and other breathing structures.</p> <p>Habitats are also at risk. When sediment is suspended in the river and light can’t penetrate, suitable fish habitat is diminished. The murkier water also means there’s less opportunity for aquatic plants and algae to photosynthesise (turn sunshine to energy).</p> <p>What’s more, many of Australia’s <a href="https://setac.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/etc.4400">waterbugs</a>, the keystone of river food webs, need pools with litter and debris for cover. They rely on slime on the surface of rocks and snags that contain <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/fwb.12778">algae, fungi and bacteria</a> for food.</p> <p>But heavy rain following fire can lead to pools and the spaces between cobbles to fill with silt, causing the waterbugs to starve and lose their homes.</p> <p>This is bad news for fish too. Any bug-eating fish that manage to avoid dying from a lack of oxygen can be faced with an immediate food shortage.</p> <p>We saw this in 2003 after the sediment slug penetrated the Ovens River in the north east Murray catchment. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2008.01851.x?casa_token=GQgDJxvEkN4AAAAA%3ATNhhYCetOkbRaRUSA57m9ERqH1ZFgXwauB_OdBAh4ofE089LGsi4WT9Bbax0PtxxkN2CrpqD71ybsPBS">Researchers</a> observed dead fish, stressed fish gulping at the water surface and freshwater crayfish walking out of the stream.</p> <p><strong>Long-term damage</strong></p> <p>Bushfires can increase the amount of nutrients in streams <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es500130g">100 fold</a>. The effects can persist for several years before nutrient levels return to pre-fire conditions.</p> <p>More nutrients in the water might sound like a good thing, but when there’s too much (especially nitrogen and phosphorous), coupled with warm temperatures, they can lead to excessive growth of blue-green algae. This algae can be toxic to both people and animals and often closes down recreational waters.</p> <p>Large parts of the upper Murray River catchment above Lake Hume has burnt, risking increases to nutrient loads within the lake and causing blue-green algae blooms which may flow downstream. This can impact communities from Albury all the way to the mouth of the Murray River in South Australia.</p> <p>Some aquatic species are already teetering on the edge of their <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00442-015-3463-7">preferred temperature</a> as stream temperatures rise from climate change. In places where bushfires have burnt all the way to the stream edge, decimating vegetation that provided shade, there’ll be less <a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/mf/MF04120">resistance to temperature changes</a>, and fewer cold places for aquatic life to hide.</p> <p>Cooler hide-outs are particularly important for popular angling species such as trout, which are highly <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/eco.1653">sensitive to increased water temperature</a>.</p> <p>But while we can expect an increase in stream flow from water-repellent burnt soil, we know from previous bushfires that, in the long-term, stream flow will drop.</p> <p>This is because in the upper catchments, regenerating younger forests use more water than the older forests they replace from <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/wrcr.20351">evapotranspiration</a> (when plants release water vapour into the surrounding atmosphere, and evaporation from the surrounding land surface).</p> <p>It’s particularly troubling for the Murray-Darling Basin, where large areas are already enduring ongoing drought. Bushfires may exacerbate existing dry conditions.</p> <p><strong>So what can we do?</strong></p> <p>We need to act as soon as possible. Understandably, priorities lie in removing the immediate and ongoing bushfire threat. But following that, we must improve sediment and erosion control to prevent debris being washed into water bodies in fire-affected areas.</p> <p>One of the first things we can do is to restore areas used for bushfire control lines and minimise the movement of soil along access tracks used for bushfire suppression. This can be achieved using sediment barriers and other erosion control measures in high risk areas.</p> <p>Longer-term, we can re-establish vegetation along waterways to help buffer temperature extremes and sediment loads entering streams.</p> <p>It’s also important to introduce strategic water quality monitoring programs that incorporate real-time sensing technology, providing an early warning system for poor water quality. This can help guide the management of our rivers and reservoirs in the years to come.</p> <p>While our current focus is on putting the fires out, as it should be, it’s important to start thinking about the future and how to protect our waterways. Because inevitably, it will rain again.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129449/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: http://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/paul-mcinerney-428290">Paul McInerney</a>, Research scientist, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/csiro-1035">CSIRO</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gavin-rees-csiro-au-932733">gavin.rees@csiro.au</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/csiro-1035">CSIRO</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/klaus-joehnk-932732">Klaus Joehnk</a>, Senior research scientist, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/csiro-1035">CSIRO</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-sweet-relief-of-rain-after-bushfires-threatens-disaster-for-our-rivers-129449">original article</a>.</em></p>

Domestic Travel

Placeholder Content Image

Why you should consider a river cruise for your next holiday

<p>For some, there’s nothing better than immersing yourself in a world of quiet luxury. This can be tricky to do when you’re in the middle of the city, surrounded by the hustle and bustle. Avalon Waterways has taken river cruising to a whole new level in the last few years, and it’s the ideal way to experience new things in a world of luxury.</p> <p><strong>Room with a view </strong></p> <p>Enjoy a <span><a href="https://www.avalonwaterways.com.au/onboard-experiences/rooms-with-a-view?utm_medium=native&amp;utm_source=over60&amp;utm_campaign=avalon19-europe-feb19&amp;utm_content=room-with-view&amp;utm_term=paid-feb">room with a view</a></span> and relax in complete self-contained luxury. Avalon Waterways features one-of-a-kind Panorama Suites on its river cruises. These suites include the widest opening windows available in river cruising, the only Open-Air balcony available across the industry as well as beds facing the window, so you never miss a minute of the wonderful views that will pass you by.</p> <p>The wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling windows leave your room feeling open and airy, as well as inviting you in to relax completely as you take in the views from the river. The windows blur the lines between the world ending and where your suite begins.</p> <p>After a long day of travelling, you’ll be able to relax in the plushest of pillows as well as enjoy L’Occitane bath products in your private room. Enjoy Egyptian super-combed cotton linens, blankets and European-style doonas as you enjoy the glorious view from your private room.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 333.3333333333333px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7823154/native-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/d833614f0b55442e852a5c253660a0d9" /></p> <p><strong>Avalon Choice</strong></p> <p>With the introduction of <a href="https://www.avalonwaterways.com.au/onboard-experiences/avalon-choice?utm_medium=native&amp;utm_source=over60&amp;utm_campaign=avalon19-europe-feb19&amp;utm_content=choice-text&amp;utm_term=paid-feb">Avalon Choice</a>, the power is truly in your hands. You are able to personalise every element of your cruise, from where and what you eat to the type of excursions you do once you arrive at your next destination. There are three different excursion types to choose from on every 2019 Avalon Europe cruise. They are:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Active</strong>, which is energetic excursions that keep you on the go. This includes canoeing, jogging tours and bike rides around the city.</li> <li><strong>Classic</strong>, which is where local experts guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations as well as the “must-see” sights of your destination. This can include guided museum tours.</li> <li><strong>Discovery</strong>, which is where you spend your days immersed entirely in the unique local culture of your destination. There are interactive hands-on activities, which are aimed at speaking to your interests. These can include tastings of local food, fruits and vegetables as well as walking tours around the local area.</li> </ul> <p>Whether you do that by exploring the depths of a city you’ve never been to or want to do some exercise and sightseeing at the same time, the itinerary is flexible enough for you to make your own choices about how you spend your day. Once you’ve finished with your excursion for the day, return back to the cruise and relax in complete luxury. You’re able to enjoy your cruise, your way.</p> <p><strong> <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7823488/avalon-image-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/e442635d9ca1434ca9283ff9d29ea8c4" /></strong></p> <p><strong>Active &amp; Discovery itineraries </strong></p> <p>For some travellers, expanding their horizons and pushing the limits of what they enjoy to do is the perfect way to enjoy their holidays. That’s why Avalon Waterways has designed the <span><a href="https://www.avalonwaterways.com.au/experiences/active-discovery?utm_medium=native&amp;utm_source=over60&amp;utm_campaign=avalon19-europe-feb19&amp;utm_content=active-text&amp;utm_term=paid-feb">Active Discovery</a></span> river cruises with these kinds of adventurers in mind. Avalon offers a broad range of included excursions on its river cruises that are bound to meet the tastes of anyone, no matter what you like doing. With a broad range of activities available, you’re able to personally tailor your cruise to your tastes and pace.</p> <p>The <strong>active</strong> aspects of these tours involve a higher pace of activity. For those travellers who like to immerse themselves in the scenery instead of idly watching it pass them by, there are bike tours, light hiking and speedier strolls available. One day, you might find yourself hiking through a forest and the next, you’ll be taking a guided tour through a castle with more steps than you can count.</p> <p>The <strong>discovery</strong> aspect of these tours is much more relaxed. For those travellers who want to expand their hobby horizons or want to try something they’ve never tried before, the discovery aspects will guide you there. Whether you want to paint in an art studio or create your own chocolate in a chocolate factory, there are a variety of interactive excursions available for a different kind of traveller.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eQSxrFG405M" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p>With a range of river cruises available across <span><a href="https://goo.gl/nWom6o">Europe</a></span>, <span><a href="https://goo.gl/zTRZLk">Asia</a></span> and <span><a href="https://www.avalonwaterways.com.au/south-america-river-cruises?utm_medium=native&amp;utm_source=over60&amp;utm_campaign=avalon19-south-america-feb19&amp;utm_content=south-america-cruise-text&amp;utm_term=paid-feb">South America</a></span>, discover a new way of river cruising and relax in quiet luxury.</p> <p>For more information regarding Avalon Waterways Tours, request a brochure <span><a href="https://www.avalonwaterways.com.au/brochures?utm_medium=native&amp;utm_source=over60&amp;utm_campaign=avalon19-global-feb19&amp;utm_content=brochure-order&amp;utm_term=paid-feb">here</a></span>.</p> <p><em>This is sponsored content brought to you in conjunction with Avalon Waterways.</em></p>

Cruising

Placeholder Content Image

Truck driver’s miraculous escape after semi-trailer crashes into waterway

<p><span>An unknown motorist has saved the life of a truck driver who became trapped in water after veering off a Victorian highway and crashing into an irrigation channel.</span></p> <p><span>A dashcam captured the dramatic moment yesterday afternoon on the Goulburn Valley Highway at Moorilim.</span></p> <p><span>The footage shows a wall of water erupting when the vehicle, which was carrying soup, made impact with the water.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FDashCamOwnersAustralia%2Fvideos%2F1699712700088363%2F&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br /></span></p> <p><span>According to witness reports, the passing motorist dived into the water and pulled out the trapped 62-year-old trucker to safety.</span></p> <p><span>“He pulled up, sprinted two lanes across highway and jumped into the channel and pulled the driver out. What a legend!”, said Sarah Cody Rawson-Harris on Facebook.</span></p> <p><span>Police and emergency services attended the scene of the incident.</span></p> <p><span>Victoria Police said in a statement, “It is believed a truck travelling along the Goulburn Valley Highway veered off the road just after 1 pm and into a water channel.”</span></p> <p><span>“The driver and sole occupant, a 62-year-old Tatura man, was helped by two passers-by and taken to hospital for observation.”</span></p> <p><span>Police have said the cause of the crash is yet to be determined. </span></p>

Insurance

Our Partners